The Carrot 1NT is a contract bridge convention, in which a 1NT opening bid shows a balanced hand 13–17 HCP. With 13–14 HCP, the opener may not have a 4-card major. With 15–17 HCP, all balanced hands (including those with a 5-card major) may be opened 1NT.[1]
While originally developed for the Carrot Club system, this opening bid can be adopted by systems using 15–17 or 14–16 HCP ranges for their 1NT openings.
It combines the preemptive advantage of a weak 1NT opening when opener lacks sufficient holdings in the majors, with the constructive effect of a strong 1NT opening.
To manage the wide 5-point HCP range, the response structure has been designed to distinguish between weak invitational bids (7–9 hcp, inviting the 15–17 hand only) and strong invitational bids (10–11 hcp, inviting the 13–14 hand and game-forcing to 15–17).